Back in the Saddle Again

Celebrating Great Britain Style
We are making our way through Britain’s greatest hits. We started with three excellent flights from Chicago to London and have been playing the greatest hits ever since. On Cremin Day 1 (aka Grafe flight day) we toured Westminster Abbey, visiting the tombs of kings, queens, poets and musicians. Then it was a brief tour through the National Gallery with snacks and then naptime for two of the party (guess who!) while the other two walked up the hill past Leicester Square and cool neighborhoods on our way to the British Museum. Unfortunately, Rick Steves led us astray, and the museum was not open late. So we hopped on the Tube and made a pub stop in Notting Hill before eating fish and chips in our neighborhood and sacking out.
The next morning we headed out for the Tower of London to see the crown jewels (fabulous!) and the rest of the bloody towers on a beautiful morning. We anxiously awaited word that the Grafes had landed and were on their way to meet us for lunch. They had adventures in urban travel (darn that closed Jubilee Tube line and he 11 bus that went the wrong way!), but they eventually made it to St. Paul’s from whence we headed to a pub lunch at the Cheshire Cheddar. Then Luther and the kids (minus Abby) took a trip on the London Eye while the rest of the grownups and Abby toured the London Museum for the history of the city (but really we were looking for seats to rest our feet – don’t tell Dennis!).
We met up for evensong at Westminster, aka naptime for Ben, followed by a walkby of Buckingham Palace and pizza dinner in our neighborhood and a happy sleep for all at the Luna Simone hotel.
Saturday morning was an early call - breakfast at 7 and a van picking us up at 7:30 for a trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury on our way to the ship. Both stops were excellent even with the pouring rain at Stonehenge. We beat the bi crows and enjoyed seeing the site and hearing about the ancient stones. Salisbury was a charming town with an amazing Gothic cathedral and open air market with Cornish pasties and the kids’ favorite shop – Poundland! Lots of cheap candy to be had.
Then it was time to head to the ship – a delightful trip in our private van until the one hour traffic back-up to reach the ship. But once we were there, it was an easy and quick transition to the ship and the drink of the day. Aah. Now vacation was on! The kids frolicked in the hot tub and pool, bravely ignoring the chilly air and brisk winds in favor of the warm water. We had a lovely dinner in the dining room and retired for our first port day on Sunday, which was in…
Le Havre. After a slow transition from ship to shore, we hoofed to the train station and got tickets to Rouen, an hour’s train ride away. Rouen was a charming town with an open boulangerie to provide baguettes, sandwiches and pastry and a market with the tastiest strawberries. We walked the town until our feet were bloody stumps, visiting the cathedral, site of 30 Monet paintings and bombings during WWII. There are lots of old beam buildings ala Shakespeare and medieval churches and a lovely art museum with many Monets and other Impressionists that were appreciated by all. Then after a relaxing train trip back to Le Havre and the ship, it was time for our next dinner, this one without kids, who would apparently rather spend time in the kid and teen zone than with their parents at a looooonnnnng dinner. So the grownups had a lovely dinner at a window table.
Surprisingly, we did NOT regain the hour we had lost the night before overnight (when does that Greenwich meantime start???), so Dennis had a little less time than expected to prep for his first live lecture in the 900-seat Princess Theatre. He was brilliant, naturally, taking about Edinburgh (tomorrow’s port) and Inverness (in two days). He even managed to throw in Scooby Doo – you’ll have to ask him how. The Grafes managed to wake up in time for lunch, but it was a stretch. It was a cold and blustery day, but it of course flew by what with snacks, kid activities, burgers from the grill, a wine tasting, Dennis’ lecture, formal photos and dinner. We are enjoying martinis in the Crooners lounge, listening to a good player who played for Frank Sinatra for a number of years. We will finally get back out lost hour tonight to get us ready for a full day of touring tomorrow in Edinburgh. No time to download pics yet – hard to believe since we are on vacation, for crying out loud! But there you go. Hopefully, tomorrow we can add some. For now, know that we are having a FABULOUS time – kids and grownups alike!